1. Technical Field
This invention generally relates to data processing, and more specifically relates to configuration of logically-partitioned computer systems.
2. Background Art
The combination of hardware and software on a particular computer system defines a computing environment. Different hardware platforms and different operating systems thus provide different computing environments. In recent years, engineers have recognized that it is possible to provide different computing environments on the same physical computer system by logically partitioning the computer system resources to different computing environments. The iSeries computer system developed by IBM is an example of a computer system that supports logical partitioning.
When an iSeries computer system is manufactured at IBM, the computer system is typically loaded with a single operating system (e.g., OS/400). Loading a single operating system onto a computer system may be thought of as loading a first logical partition. However, the first operating system is not typically spoken of as residing in a “logical partition” until a second logical partition needs to be defined, which requires the definition of a logical partition that is separate and distinct from the first logical partition that contains the installed operating system.
The loading of an operating system such as OS/400 can take many hours to complete. Once the operating system is loaded, the computer system is typically shipped to a customer. If the customer wants the computer system to be configured with multiple logical partitions, the customer connects the computer system to a separate computer system known as a Hardware Maintenance Console (HMC). The installed operating system on the computer system acts as an I/O bridge. The HMC then interacts with the I/O bridge in the installed operating system to define and load the logical partitions, one at a time in serial fashion. If the customer wants an iSeries computer system with eight different logical partitions, it can take literally days to install these logical partitions in serial fashion one at a time. Without a way to reduce the time required to load multiple logical partitions, the computer industry will continue to suffer from excessively long times to load multiple logical partitions onto a computer system.